Canada And Vimy Ridge

Vimy Ridge is a hill in France that was single handily captured by Canadian soldiers from Germany in World War 1. Since then many people in history have argued whether it was Canada’s coming of age as a nation. One side argues that too many lives were lost at the cost of capturing it. The other side argues that it was Canada’s birth as a nation because Canadians conquered the hill when the British and French could not, they trained very hard for the battle and that they got a spot in the League of Nations and got a signature in the Treaty of Versailles. Even though a lot of lives were lost, it is highly unquestionable that the Battle of Vimy Ridge was Canada’s coming of age.

First of all, the battle of Vimy Ridge was Canada’s coming of age because they captured Vimy Ridge when the British and French could not. The French and British commanders thought the Ridge was “impregnable” and that it could not be conquered (“Pride at Vimy Ridge”). Canada proved them wrong and conquered the “impregnable” Ridge on their first try. Also all the tactics that the French and British used to capture Vimy Ridge were hugely unsuccessful (“Canada and Vimy Ridge”). All the tactics they tried failed and got more and more soldiers killed. Canada’s tactics worked on the first time they tried to conquer Vimy Ridge. They used the “Creeping Barrage” tactic and it worked on the first try. Another thing is that, the British and French had approximately 150 000 deaths when they tried conquering Vimy Ridge and still failed (“Pride at Vimy Ridge”). Canada had way less casualties (3600 deaths and more than 7000 hurt) but, still conquered Vimy Ridge (“Canada and Vimy Ridge”). People think this Vimy Ridge was not Canada’s coming of age because of the deaths that took place, but compared to the deaths the French and British had this was only a fraction. In addition, Canada conquered more prisoners, guns and ground in Vimy Ridge than Britain did in the whole war (“WW1: The Battle of Vimy Ridge- Canada at War”). Canada conquered Vimy Ridge when the French and British couldn’t. The French and British commanders thought the ridge was “impregnable”, their tactics were unsuccessful and they got approximately 150 000 soldier killed.

Second of all, the Battle of Vimy Ridge was Canada’s coming of age because this battle led to Canada getting many rewards after the war. Once the war was over, four Canadians were rewarded with the Victoria Cross medal for their Bravery in the Battle of Vimy Ridge (“WW1: The Battle of Vimy Ridge- Canada at War”). This award was very important because it was the highest military award you could get and only the bravest soldiers in the war were awarded with it. This shows how brave the Canadian soldiers were in this battle. Canada was also rewarded a spot in the League of Nations for their contribution in the Battle (“Canada and Vimy Ridge”). The League of Nations was an organization created after World War 1 to keep peace in the world and to prevent another war from happening. For the first time they weren’t thought of as one of Britain’s colonies, but a separate nation. Another thing is, that they were given a signature in the Treaty of Versailles after the war (“WW1: The Battle of Vimy Ridge- Canada at War”). They got their own signature instead of them being considered one of Britain’s colonies and Britain signing for them. For the first time, Canada signed as an independent nation and not under Britain.

Lastly, the Battle of Vimy Ridge was Canada’s coming of age because they prepared and trained very hard for this battle. This is important because never before has a battle been this much prepared/trained for (Brewster 17). This shows that this battle meant a lot to Canada and shows how determined they were to conquer Vimy Ridge. Canada built a full scale model of Vimy Ridge to exactly plan out and practise the battle (“WW1: The Battle of Vimy Ridge- Canada at War”). The soldiers practised everyday what they were going to do on the model. Every soldier knew exactly what to do and were each given a map of the Ridge. Normally, only the officers were given a map in a battle (“WW1: The Battle of Vimy Ridge- Canada at War”). Also Canada spent two months in the winter preparing and training for this battle (“WW1: The Battle of Vimy Ridge- Canada at War”). They prepared even in the harsh, snowy conditions to make sure they succeed. This shows how hard Canadians tried to get the ridge. Another thing is, that Canadians did a lot of things to ensure victory such as, dig tunnels behind enemy lines and bombard enemy weapon stashes with artillery (“WW1: The Battle of Vimy Ridge- Canada at War”). They used over 1 million artillery shells and destroyed 80% of the enemy weapons (“WW1: The Battle of Vimy Ridge- Canada at War”). The Canadian army also raided enemy trenches and collected data to plan strategy to help prepare for the battle (“WW1: The Battle of Vimy Ridge- Canada at War”). This helped them capture Vimy Ridge (“WW1: The Battle of Vimy Ridge- Canada at War”).

In conclusion, the Battle of Vimy Ridge was Canada’s coming of age because they captured Vimy Ridge when the French and British could not, the battle led to Canada getting many rewards because of the battle, and Canada prepared very hard for this Battle. Even though a lot of lives were lost in this battle, it is highly unquestionable that the Battle of Vimy Ridge was Canada’s coming of age. If it was not for Canada conquering Vimy Ridge, the Germans might have won the war.